New predatory interaction of Trichonephila clavipes (Araneae: Nephilidae) on Fidicinini (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in a forest fragment of the Neotropical region

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  New predatory interaction of Trichonephila clavipes (Araneae: Nephilidae) on Fidicinini (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in a forest fragment of the Neotropical region Abstract Trichonephila clavipes (Araneae: Nephilidae) is an orb web-building spider whose diet is primarily based on flying insects. This note aims to report the first predatory interaction of T. clavipes on a cicada of the genus Fidicina (Hemiptera: Cicadidae) in a fragment of the Atlantic Forest in Brazil. The predation event was observed (ad libitum) in the Benjamin Maranhão Botanical Garden situated in the Mata do Buraquinho Wildlife Refuge, northeastern Brazil. A specimen of Fidicina sp. was found freshly dead and trapped in the web of T. clavipes. The nephilid was observed moving slowly between the ventral and dorsal regions of the Fidicina sp. without weaving a web around the cicadid. Then, T. clavipes was observed perched on the left side of the Fidicina sp., with its pedipalps and chelicerae manipulating the thorax ...

On the identity of Opopaea euphorbicola Strand, 1909 and first records of three other non-native goblin spiders from Ascension Island (Araneae: Oonopidae)

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On the identity of Opopaea euphorbicola Strand, 1909 and first records of three other non-native goblin spiders from Ascension Island (Araneae: Oonopidae)

Strand (1909) described Opopaea euphorbicola Strand, 1909 from Ascension Island, stating “Zwei ♀♀ von Ascension 14.IX.03, unter Euphorbia origanoides” (Strand, 1909: 549) indicating the habitat from which it was collected and clarifying there were two [syntypic] females. This material was collected by the 1901–1903 German South Polar Expedition, which also collected spiders on nearby Saint Helena (Strand 1909; Sherwood & Fowler 2023). Strand’s description focuses mostly on somatic characters and does little to establish the identity of this species, given the lack of illustrations, which is common for his descriptions (Nentwig et al. 2020).

Many thanks to Danni Sherwood for providing me with the full paper via ResearchGate

Sherwood, Danniella & Sharp, Adam. (2024). On the identity of Opopaea euphorbicola Strand, 1909 and first records of three other non-native goblin spiders from Ascension Island (Araneae: Oonopidae). 5437. 125-130. 10.11646/zootaxa.5437.1.9.